Dissertation
Work, time and sustainability: The political economy of work and time usage in the context of policy related to a sustainable society
Washington State University
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Washington State University
05/2010
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.7273/000006089
Abstract
Issues pertaining to the relationship between how sustainable a society is, and how people use their time, represent a significant area of interest for both researchers and policy makers. Specifically, of interest is the idea of time equity- that is, time use patterns which maintain an appropriate balance between work, leisure, social and economic activities. Analyzed here is the question of how time equity relates, either in a causal or correlational manner to a broadly defined version of sustainability that simultaneously considers social, economic and environmental factors. To better understand this relationship this dissertation attempts to both assess the immediate relationship between time use and sustainability and illuminate how public policy and various major social, economic and environmental structures influence both sustainability and time use. Although an analysis of these topics can use many methodologies and investigate a wide range of subject pools, the focus here consists of major industrialized countries and the methodology entails the development of an index that gauges both time equity and sustainability. Time usage is analyzed both relative to specific daily activities and periodic repetitive activities. Sustainability is assessed relative to specific social, economic, and environmental indicators. This approach provides a two-fold opportunity; the first is to investigate the hypothesis that countries which foster long working hours, short vacations and display neglect for the assessment of informal economic activity tend to be less sustainable than countries which do otherwise. The second opportunity is to infer the effect of public policies geared towards more equitable time management and various aspects of sustainability. This comparative analysis provides a foundation for a discussion of the likely causal dynamics time equity and sustainability. Although the primary analysis of this work is inherently comparative and quantitative in nature, the ultimate goals of this work include addressing the issues of American exceptionalism relative to time use and addressing many of the normative questions that surround this topic. Ultimately, this work concludes that there is a positive relationship between high levels of time equity and sustainability.
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Details
- Title
- Work, time and sustainability
- Creators
- Andrew Robert Thomas
- Contributors
- David C. Nice (Chair)Steven D Stehr (Committee Member) - Washington State University, Politics, Philosophy and Public Affairs, School ofNicholas P Lovrich (Committee Member)
- Awarding Institution
- Washington State University
- Academic Unit
- Politics, Philosophy and Public Affairs, School of
- Theses and Dissertations
- Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Washington State University
- Publisher
- Washington State University
- Number of pages
- 505
- Identifiers
- 99901055022301842
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Dissertation